Starbucks is making an innovative investment in Chicago, providing seed money for local entrepreneurs to start small businesses and reinvest in neighborhoods. We’ll take a look at that and discuss its implications. And next week is Election Day in numerous cities throughout the country as well as in five states. We’ll discuss the national landscape and what restaurant owners can expect. And a friend from Silicon Valley stopped by the pod to talk about the role technology is playing in employers’ ability to provide additional educational opportunities and upskilling for their employees. We’ll discuss that with Chris Mancini from study.com. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

There was major movement this week on the portable benefits issue as lawmakers both in Congress as well as in cities debate the future of work. Policymakers from both the political left and right are increasingly addressing the issue and we’ll discuss how the industry should be reacting. And in the midst of a union organizing campaign, Chipotle appears to have shot themselves in the foot again and there is a major lawsuit pending. We’ll take a look at that situation. And while Big Tech is getting beaten up in Congress everyday, it appears that cities are increasingly taking the lead in Tech Lash. We’ll kick that around as well. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Elections are just weeks away in a number of key states and we’ll discuss how things look coming into the home stretch and how the results may impact 2020. And we recap the MUFSO conference in Denver where a couple of industry veterans dropped by the pod room to say hello and hang out with us a little bit including Bloomin' Brands CEO Dave Deno and longtime industry journalist Ron Ruggless who both shared their observations about the state of the industry and the important issues we are facing. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Align team interviews an old friend of ours and industry veteran, New York City labor attorney Carolyn Richmond who runs the Hospitality Practice Group for Fox Rothchild. She stopped by the pod to help us understand the likely next steps of the SEIU’s organizing campaign in New York and how area employers should prepare if organizers end up on their doorstep. And we’ve seen the inevitable pushback on recent narratives that CEOs should be prioritizing people and communities over profits. We discuss a New York Times piece this week that argues for CEOs to remember what their real job is. And under the heading of broken record, again this week, everyone’s talking about wage theft. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

It’s finally happening. The SEIU has begun their long-threatened campaign to organize McDonald’s workers, starting with outlets in New York City as well as some Chipotle restaurants. We’ll discuss what’s next and what the ramifications could be. And speaking of New York City, at the behest of the restaurant industry, Grubhub has found itself in the sights of the mayor and city council. Is this a one-off or the beginning of the industry’s entry into new economy issues. We’ll kick that around. And Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro have released their labor agendas and they are so far to the left that Bernie Sanders is having to play catch up. Let that soak in for a minute. We’ll try to make sense of that. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

A new study is suggesting that many young people entering the workforce are more concerned with the company they work for doing good things than they are concerned with making good money. Can this be right? We’ll take a look at this 12- city case study. And on the flip side of that, some prominent conservatives are mounting a backlash against “do gooder” companies and calling for government to intervene. We’ll try to make some sense out of that. And California may be on the path toward a “Restaurant Survivor Empowerment Act”. We’ll bring you up to speed on that. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The midterm elections are right around the corner and some key races are very tight in Virginia, Kentucky and Louisiana. We’ll take a look at how those races are playing out and what it means for operators. And on the heels of redefining their "purpose of a corporation" mission statement, the Business Roundtable has a new Chairman - and it’s Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillion. We’ll discuss the importance of having a major entry-level employer as the leader of America’s CEOs. And we visited with a large group of industry CFOs this week and will discuss what’s on the minds - and agendas - of these important senior leaders. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

California passed landmark legislation, the long-anticipated AB 5, re-classifying Uber and Lyft and other drivers as employees. But the fallout is just beginning - and the franchise business model may be on shaky ground. We’ll discuss what this means for employers and what’s ahead in California. And new data came out this week that shows minorities are now the majority of new working-age hires in America. Since demographics are destiny, we’ll discuss what all this means for traditional employers. And we’ll take a look at a new documentary that vividly shows the confluence of traditional workers trying to compete in the global economy. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Working Families party is increasingly giving traditional Democrats a run for their money in cities across the country - and their agenda is focused solely on issues directly impacting the industry. We’ll take a look at what’s going on there. And business and politics collided once again this week when Walmart made a major announcement on guns. We’ll discuss the potential implications for them and all employers. And Universal Basic Income is back in the news, with sleeper candidate Andrew Yang putting it squarely in the middle of the Democratic primary process. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The California legislation that would codify the Dynamex and classify millions of independent contractors as employees is lurching toward the finish line and it may run over the franchise business model in the process. Jeff Hanscom, Vice President of State Government Relations & Public Policy at the International Franchise Association drops by the podcast to get us up to speed. And the unions had another big week. A new Gallup poll suggests public support for unions is at a 50-year high and the labor community opened up a new front in their war of QSRs - now they’re targeting businesses operating at highway rest areas. We’ll kick that around and discuss the impact to the industry. And a national publication does a cover story on the state of the industry - but it feels like more of a drive by hatchet job. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.